Soul singer Duffy 'pushed to the brink of a breakdown' by her new-found fame

Welsh soul singer Duffy has confessed that her new-found fame has driven her to the brink of a nervous breakdown.

Duffy on her new found fame: "It would be very easy to become a recluse"Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Lucy Cockcroft

12:35AM BST 29 Sep 2008

The 24-year-old was unknown until she had a number one hit with Mercy in February, but now says she cannot escape the constant attention that her stardom has brought.

Duffy also admitted that she has considered trying to escape from her celebrity status.

She said: "It would be very easy to become a recluse.

"The scary thing is that this feels to me like just the beginning. I'm borderline on a nervous breakdown."

Even when she is abroad, Duffy has found it very difficult to blend into the background.

She said: "It's not normal and it can make you feel very isolated in a large crowd.

"I walked into a restaurant in Italy and there were 30 lads in there chanting at me.

"I have no idea what they were saying, but they were lovely. The people at the restaurant gave me such a welcome too and you can't really fault it. They meant no harm whatsoever.

"But you are in jeopardy in those situations. It can be a scary situation when there are 15 lads on one side of a pub and a gang of girls on the other, and they all want a photo when all you want are a couple of drinks.

"I'm still a normal human. I'm not a brain surgeon or the person who sent the first rocket into space, but you have to handle that from the beginning.

"I have sold my soul and I'm no longer anonymous, but I have to remember that the majority of people are good."